Iraq’s largest political bloc delays decision on prime minister candidate to Wednesday

Iraq’s Shiite-led Coordination Framework has postponed a decision on its nominee for prime minister until Wednesday, Secretary-General Abbas al-Amiri said Monday.

Amiri described a meeting held by the bloc on Monday on selecting its candidate for the post as “positive.”

“All views regarding the candidate for prime minister were presented and discussed, but the issue requires more time,” he added in a statement carried by the state news agency INA.

He said that the Coordination Framework decided to hold another meeting on Tuesday to continue discussions and reach a result on Wednesday.

The meetings come as political blocs seek to finalize constitutional entitlements following the election of Nizar Amidi as president on April 11.

Under Article 76 of Iraq’s constitution, the president must task the nominee of the largest parliamentary bloc with forming a government within 15 days of being elected.

The Coordination Framework is the largest bloc in parliament, holding about 130 to 140 seats out of 329, according to recent election results.

The alliance plays a central role in selecting the prime minister and forming the government. It announced in January its nomination of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for the post, but his nomination faced opposition from US President Donald Trump, who has called on Iraq not to appoint him as premier.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio